Waiting Game
by Usami
Summary: If there was one thing she hated, it was having to wait.


This was written for the LJ community **disney_uberland** _Fic Request_ challenge. It was actually requested by **Netbug009**, who asked for a Buzz/Jessie fic using the prompt "10 years", so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm a little worried about how it turned out, though. But I hope it's okay anyway. Enjoy!

**Waiting Game**

Honestly, Jessie was surprised that she actually _lasted_ this long.

She really didn't like waiting. If she knew what she wanted, then she always did her best to get it. Granted, she knew sometimes it wasn't always possible (like when she was still in storage and all she wanted was to get _out_), and she certainly wouldn't resort to deceitful or harmful ways to get what she wanted. But if she was able to get it herself, then she wouldn't simply wait around for something to happen. She would take matters into her own hands, and do whatever she could to make sure it _would_ happen.

Yet she always found herself waiting on Buzz.

Jessie had no problem admitting that, back when she first met Buzz, she thought he was pretty cute. And when he first tried to talk to her - _just_ her, with Woody nowhere nearby - she saw how sweet he could be (and of course, she wasn't afraid to tell him so). Over all those years in Andy's room, the more she got to know him, the more she enjoyed talking with him, spending time with him...just _being_ with him.

And she knew he liked her. She saw it in the way he would look in her direction, briefly before shyly looking away again. She heard it in the gentle way he spoke to her sometimes when he was calming her worst fears. And she thought it was adorable sometimes when he would get so flustered just being around her. So it was no surprise when she started liking him back. And if it had been up to her, she would have done something about it a long time ago.

But somehow, Mrs. Potatohead convinced her to wait it out. 'It's the man's job to make the first move,' she had said. 'Besides, it might hurt his pride if you say it first.'

Jessie never did like the idea of waiting for Buzz to be the one who started anything. It was such an old-fashioned idea, and she wasn't usually that kind of girl. Still, being new to such feelings and relationships, she figured it couldn't hurt listening to the advice of a happily married toy. She was willing to do anything to make it work.

So she waited...

And waited...

And waited...

Really, how could someone brave enough to jump into reckless danger so easily have such a hard time talking to the girl he likes?

Even through all the years of being with him in Andy's room, being played with and waiting and hoping together, he never said _anything_. It drove her crazy sometimes, because she _knew_ how he felt about her, and she was sure of how she felt about him. And she wanted to do something about it so badly. But for Buzz, she was willing to wait. Besides, it was kind of fun messing with him once in a while, and she always thought that they had all the time in the world for something to happen.

She should have known...being a toy meant never knowing how long you would last.

That time at the dump, when they thought they wouldn't make it, she had hoped that Buzz would finally say something. Even though she knew, she wanted him to show her for once, to give her the proof that she spent so many years waiting for. He never said anything though, but she could tell. She saw it in the way he looked at her then, felt it in the gentle way he took her hand...it was enough to show all the feelings that he held back since they met. At that moment, as they were running out of time, it was just enough.

It _was_...before they survived. But after narrowly escaping death, she really thought that things would be different between them. They had already acknowledged that there was something between them, something more than just friends, and she really thought that they would use this second chance to finally _do_ something about it. She thought she wouldn't have to wait any longer.

Except...not much changed. Even after everything that happened, they were right back to where they started. Their relationship was no more or less different or awkward than it was before, and Buzz was still a little shy around her.

But deep down, she knew knew a part of Buzz that _wasn't_ so shy. Even when she didn't understand what he was saying, Buzz's Spanish mode had intrigued her, because it was nice seeing Buzz so open about his feelings for her. And she wanted to see more of it...more of _him_. But for that, she realized that she had to do what she should have done years ago.

Because they were given this second chance, and she'd hate to waste it by just _waiting_. If this was something she wanted, it was time for her to take matters into her own hands and get it herself.

She watched as Buzz talked with Totoro about fixing the cardboard ship, but only for a moment before glancing at Bullseye. She gave him a quick nod, and the horse seemed to grin as he hit the play button.

_"I'm sorry, I...I-I don't know what came over me."_

_ "Just go with it, Buzz."_

And finally, after all that time she spent waiting for him, he did.

**The End**


End file.
